The Fragrance Files

Josh & Michy

The Fragrance Files is a long-form podcast about perfume as lived experience.

Through reflective conversations and thoughtful interviews, the show explores scent as identity, memory, culture, and personal ritual. Moving beyond notes and rankings, The Fragrance Files creates space for slower, more meaningful conversations about fragrance and the people who wear it.

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32 episodes
Updated Friday
Explicit

Episodes32

Newest first

Friday · 1 hr 22 min
The Haunted World of Heretic Parfum
Beyond the perfume, Douglas Little is building haunted worlds. In this episode of The Fragrance Files, we sit down with the founder of Heretic Parfum to explore why darkness, folklore, horror, and the supernatural have always been fertile ground for scent. Douglas shares the origins of Heretic, the challenges of building an independent fragrance house before niche perfume became mainstream, and why natural materials continue to inspire his creative process despite their unpredictability. Together, we unpack fragrance as storytelling, from texture and atmosphere to emotion and memory.
July 24 · 1 hr 27 min
Michael Nordstrand's Vehicles of Discovery Pt. 2
Following Scent Fest, we sat down with Michael Nordstrand to re-record the second part of his episode. Apologies for the delay but enjoy a poignant, hilarious, and extra long episode to make up for it where we discuss the importance of authorship in perfumery
July 17 · 1 hr 9 min
The Scent Fest Episode
It's the Scent Fest Episode Y'all! Delightfully unhinged, we dive into the memories made, the people we saw, and brands we loves, the perfumes we missed, and the bottles we brought home!
July 10 · 56 min
Olfactory NYC with JJ Vittoria
The conversation this week delves into the challenges in the fragrance industry, disrupting the industry, accessibility and experience, the model of Olfactory NYC- with the founder JJ Vittoria discussing the role of perfumers, creating fragrance elements, and customer connection and experience.
July 3 · 1 hr 3 min
House of Iyrah with Samira Mbang
Samira shares her early fascination with fragrance, influenced by her mother's anosmia and her own emotional connection to scent. She introduces House of Iyrah and discusses the emotive approach to fragrance creation. The conversation delves into the importance of smell and the process of evaluating fragrances, as well as personal aversions to certain fragrance notes.
June 24 · 49 min
The Perfume Guy & The Goth Fragrance Bestie
This week Josh sits down with Sebastian Jara, also known as The Perfume Guy. With over a decade of perfume content creation and a collection spanning in the thousands, Sebastian has a distinct vision of fragrance as an industry, art form, and community. Tune in next week when Michy returns, back to our normal Friday spot!
June 19 · 1 hr 14 min
Liz & The Vapor Parade
Liz, also known as The Vapor Parade, shares her contrarian outlook on fragrance, emphasizing originality and authenticity. We explore her journey of discovering fragrance, niche fragrances, and the impact of specific scents on her life, as well as, transition from the service industry to the tech industry.
June 12 · 1 hr 5 min
Michy Goes To Esxence
This week it's just the two of us talking about Michy's trip to Milan for Esxence and about things we're loving heading into the summer. Lots of recommendations and lots of PR this week. Thank you to the brands who are supporting our work!
June 5 · 1 hr 9 min
Witnessing & Archiving with The Pitaya Collective
This week we sit down with Paula Morales of The Pitaya Collective to discuss how spirituality, memory, death, and grief are tied to scent. Fragrance functions as a bridge between the physical, psychological, and spiritual in a way other scents cannot. We wanted to explore that facet with Paula and their perspective as a Mayan Timekeeper and an archivist.
May 29 · 1 hr 8 min
Michael Nordstrand's Vehicles of Discovery Pt. 1
**Disclaimer at the time of filming this episode the Estee Lauder and Puig merger was still happening. It has since fallen apart. Dries Van Noten will not be part of Estee Lauder.** This week is the first part of a highly anticipated conversation with the one, the only, Michael Nordstrand about the state of the perfume industry, the ugly underbelly of being a perfumer, and the shifting role of the perfumer in a world trying to focus on scale and sales. Tune in next week for part two!
May 23 · 53 min
The Compounding of The Alloy Studio
This week we sit down with Eddie and Bryson of The Alloy Studios to discuss the brand's foundation in black culture and queer culture before moving into fragrance as fashion, armor, and a way of life.
May 15 · 1 hr 4 min
Hoshi Gotta Be On Our Podcast w/ Hoshi Gato
This week we sit down with Ember, the founder and perfumer of Hoshi Gato on everything from the brand's origins to the snake oil educators of faux perfumery on social media
May 8 · 48 min
The Fumed Episode
Title kinda says it all on this one, we talk about Fumed and hear from both attendees and brands from the show.
May 1 · 1 hr 5 min
Comfort Scents & Nostaliga
This week the conversation delves into the emotional and practical role of fragrance in daily life, exploring the impact of comfort scents on emotional regulation and relaxation. We discuss the complexity vs. simplicity in fragrance creation and the significance of bedtime rituals and comfort scents in our lives.
April 24 · 1 hr 5 min
Mitti Parfum: A Love Story
This week we delve into the power of a creative couple who founded Mitti as a testament to their relationship. Ridhima leads copy and creative, while Neerav is lead perfumer. The two talk about balance, trust, and make us all question our relationships. The lingering question on everyone's mind: When was the last time I trusted someone to make my coffee?
April 17 · 51 min
BONUS: Pearfat Parfum Goth Fragrance Bestie
Bonus Episode: Alie sat down with us for Goth Fragrance Dialogues to discuss the brand ethos of a "midwest love story"
April 17 · 56 min
Purposely Playful Perfumes with Pearfat Parfum
Alie Kiral, the nose behind Pearfat Parfum, graced our screens again to talk about the purposeful playfulness and whimsy inherent to her brand and the impacts of being authentic and fun in an industry prone to revert to the sexy or serious.
April 10 · 50 min
The Invasion Pt. 2 with Stéle
We're back with part two of the Stéle episode, talking more about the importance of the Indie space and how to support it. Tune into Part 1 if you missed it!
April 3 · 57 min
The Invasion Pt. 1 with Stéle
This week we sit down with Jake and Matt, the duo behind Stéle NYC to discuss the insidious nature in which private equity and venture capital have killed the niche industry in search of profits and is actively working to take over the indie perfume space. What can we do about it? Focus on where we spend out money and who we support. We can only protect this community if we stick up for it. This conversation went so over, it's now a two part episode- with Part 2 Launching next Friday!
March 27 · 1 hr 11 min
Pacing Yourself with The Dry Down Diaries
This week we slowed down with Christina Loff from The Dry Down Diaries to talk about long form content, the challenges of a world controlled by algorithms, and the diversity of the fragrance community.

The Fragrance Files

The Haunted World of Heretic Parfum

Michael Nordstrand's Vehicles of Discovery Pt. 2

The Scent Fest Episode

Olfactory NYC with JJ Vittoria

House of Iyrah with Samira Mbang

The Perfume Guy & The Goth Fragrance Bestie

Liz & The Vapor Parade

Michy Goes To Esxence

Witnessing & Archiving with The Pitaya Collective

Michael Nordstrand's Vehicles of Discovery Pt. 1

The Compounding of The Alloy Studio

Hoshi Gotta Be On Our Podcast w/ Hoshi Gato

The Fumed Episode

Comfort Scents & Nostaliga

Mitti Parfum: A Love Story

BONUS: Pearfat Parfum Goth Fragrance Bestie

Purposely Playful Perfumes with Pearfat Parfum

The Invasion Pt. 2 with Stéle

The Invasion Pt. 1 with Stéle

Pacing Yourself with The Dry Down Diaries